1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a basic input-output system (BIOS) of a computer, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for upgrading the BIOS of a computer for upgrading an existing BIOS.
2. Related Art
Up to this point, methods for upgrading the BIOS of a computer have been burdened by several disadvantages. Typically, such methods involve the use of many floppy disks which have to be loaded into the computer in sequence since the BIOS has to be upgraded by floppy disk. The sequential loading of the floppy disks is accompanied by the necessity for the user to input commands using a keyboard. Thus, current systems for upgrading the BIOS of a computer consume much unnecessary time. There is also the disadvantage that the floppy disks must be stored, and this results in a waste of storage space.
Therefore, there is a need for the development of a method for upgrading the BIOS of a computer using another, less time-consuming technique. Specifically, there is a need for the development of a method for upgrading a BIOS using serial communication, so that it is possible to collectively upgrade the BIOS's of a plurality of computers, thereby saving time by using serial communication and not using a floppy disk.
The following patents are considered to be representative of the prior art, and are burdened by the disadvantages set forth herein: U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,056 to Totani, entitled Disk Drive Control Computer And Method For Rewriting Control Program In Flash EEPROM With Serial Communication Using Unassigned Pins Of SCST Or ATA Connector, U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,419 to O'Brien, entitled System And Method For Merging Disk Change Data From A Floppy Disk Controller With Data Relating To AN IDE Drive Controller, U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,357 to Moran et al., entitled Flash Memory System Providing Both BIOS And User Storage Capability, U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,843 to Moran et al., entitled Flash Memory System Providing Both BIOS And User Storage Capability, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,267 to Chan et al, entitled Method And Apparatus For Updating And Restoring System BIOS Functions While Maintaining BIOS Integrity.